For the last 18 years or more, visiting Diatagon is one of my yearly anticipated vacation. Something deep within me always crave to see the place, the people I care and revisit my past. I don't know how many articles I've written about Diatagon before. All I know is that, visiting Diatagon and writing about Diatagon feels so satisfying and fulfilling.
My normal routine every time I visits Diatagon is to buy pasalubongs for my friends in Butuan City. I am Cebu based and just a plane or a ship away from Butuan. Gaisano is usual shopping mall to buy pasalubong which normally consist of groceries. I packed them in several separate bags and distribute them to people special to my heart when I get to Diatagon.
Riding the Bachelor bus from Butuan to Diatagon takes about 3 hours. I never get tired of country side scenery along the way. In fact I took countless videos of my bus travels every time I visit Diatagon. The 3 hours ride always feels like a therapy to me. It reminds me of my past when I was still a boy full of dreams as left Diatagon in a conquest to "Conquer" the world. Only to realize later that the most important thing to conquer is not the world, but our selves.
The tiangehan or the palengke is one of my most favorite place to visit in Diatagon. Seeing fresh fish for kinilaw is a joy to my eyes. My classmate Godfrey Cabarles who sell fish at the Tiangehan never fails to offer me the best kinilaw and a conversation that lights up our hearts. Of course the beer is companion that makes my visit to the tiangehan alive and fun.
Seeing classsmates, relatives and talking to old neighbors and friends are the usual highlights of my visit. I just walk, walk and walk if I can. It's my way of doing a recollection and retreat for my self. The old streets and the old views always remind of who I am and guides me where to go. Diatagon reminds me that simplicity, contentment and being with the people you care and doing what makes you happy is the ultimate life a person can get. Not fame, not fortune, not lavish life and not abundance of pleasure can fill a man's life.
When I go back to the city, I feel refresh, recharged and renewed. I find my self getting the right perspective again. Because my visit to Diatagon tells me that life is not all about work, career and money. Life is all about what makes us happy.
- Jun Abines
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